Anaheim considers streetcar project

ANAHEIM Now that construction has begun on a major transportation hub near Angel Stadium, the city is looking at a $318 million plan to move thousands of tourists and employees to Disneyland and other destinations nearby.

The best way city planners say to move those people: streetcars. They would have a sleek, modern look, fully enclosed, similar to those used in Portland, Ore., and in European cities.

The City Council on Tuesday night reviewed the concept of streetcars that would run on a fixed guideway to Disneyland, shops and restaurants of GardenWalk mall and the Anaheim Convention Center, among other stops. Several council members expressed general support for the idea but ultimately asked for more time to study all alternatives.

The idea of streetcars is being recommended by city staff over an elevated monorail, which was Anaheim's initial focus. The system, called Anaheim Rapid Connection, would run on a 3.2-mile track mostly along Katella Avenue from the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, the transportation hub under construction and set to open in 2014. The idea of ARC is to provide a cheap – maybe even free – ride for the millions of tourists who visit Disneyland annually and for some of the 51,000 workers in the 5-square-mile area in and around the Anaheim Resort.

“I think it's something that Anaheim should have, a good way to transport a lot of people, and it would be a unique landmark that would bring more interest to this area,” said James Williams, 41, who lives in the Platinum Triangle near Angel Stadium.

City planners said they seriously considered several other options, including enhanced bus service and the elevated monorail. They determined a monorail could move the fastest, about 30 mph, and would attract the largest ridership. But at a cost of $679 million, it was simply too expensive, said Natalie Meeks, the city's director of public works.

By contrast, the streetcar system is expected to cost about $318 million. Most of that money would come from federal and state grants and the Orange County Transportation Authority, which has committed to pay $16.7 million from Measure M2, the county's renewed half-cent sales tax. The city would contribute $1.8 million, money that would come from the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District, which comes from a 2 percent tax on Anaheim hotel bills.

Final design and funding plans would have to come back before the City Council for approvals before the project could move forward. The streetcars could eventually continue south on Harbor Boulevard and connect with Garden Grove and Santa Ana, ending at that city's train station.

The OCTA has encouraged such fixed-guideway projects to connect with Metrolink, considered the backbone of transportation in Orange County. About $6 million is available to help fund Anaheim's project after the Centerline rail project failed, OCTA spokesman Joel Zlotnik said.

Councilman Harry Sidhu asked for more time to study alternatives, saying he can't understand why the city wouldn't choose enhanced bus service, which would cost about $53 million.

If the recommended streetcar plan goes forward, 10 streetcars in all would operate on the tracks in Anaheim, taking about 18 minutes to travel from one end to the other.

Because the Disneyland Resort is a major stop along the planned route, Disney officials were part of the planning process.

“Anaheim has always been a regional pioneer for transportation, and we applaud their leadership in creating a world-class transportation system that will transform the way residents, visitors and employees travel to and from Orange County,” Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown said in a statement.

The streetcar tracks would be built along Katella Avenue between Douglass Road and Haster Street and along Harbor Boulevard, between Disney Way and Convention Center Drive. The streetcars would run in the far-right lanes of city streets and would run amid car traffic.

Traffic engineers would work with traffic-light timing with the hope of ensuring that the streetcars don't slow car traffic.

“Ultimately, we hope that the use of streetcars will take cars off the road as well,” Meeks said.

The city also would spend about $4.3 million annually to maintain and operate the system, money that would come from the Tourist Improvement District, advertising and, perhaps, a small fare.

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